20&21

Uh, whoops. Really dropped the ball there for a while, huh? {I'm pretty sure I've said that same exact phrase not too long ago right here. But it still applies, so dewai.}

Well the little miss is 21 months old. That's like, seriously old in baby/toddlerdom, right? I don't even know where to begin. She is doing so much, saying so much, acting a fool so much, being a little love so much, learning so much, teaching me so much, moving around so much, making her opinions known so much, playing so much, coloring so much, throwing things so much, smiling so much, laughing so much, climbing so much, jumping so much, jabbering so much. She's just a real live little person. And don't you forget it!

We went through a rough sleeping stage a ways back. {That I'd like to document for my own reference. Deal with it.} Yeah. That was BRUTAL. She resisted naps and bedtime and resisted strongly and loudly. She would cry and scream and call for us. And she started waking (more than once) in the night. No fun I tell ya. Especially after over a year of pretty smooth sleep sailing. But our easy-to-sleep baby is back. THANK GOD. Like a lot of baby-related-routines, they like to switch it up every 2 weeks or so. Which sounds like a looooooooong time when you're in the midst of it, but not so much in the grand scheme. So that happened.

Next! She is picking up new words every day and I have to admit, this is my most favorite thing so far: teaching her to say funny things! {Or just things in general!} Her little voice saying "I love you" and "purple" and "apple." I just can't get enough. She's started saying some phrases {"up please" and "help me"} but mostly she will just say one word followed by "yeah" when she wants something. And you must must must validate whatever it is she is saying or the repeating begins and it will not end. Nope. No end in sight. Tree, lights, truck, tractor, off, diaper, wipes, cheese, wa-wa/water, yellow, book, mama, daddy-o, mommy, baby, bebe, willie/wee-wee, bottle {for the baby}, potty, up, car, bike, BUS, eat, oatmeal, snackies, hold me, trash, ticks/stickers, cow, owee, puppy, kitty, night-night, bubba, and UH-OH are the usual go-to's at this point but that's just off the top of my head. Lots of animals noises, random grunting noises, and indistinguishables as well.

She loves: coloring, BOOKS {even the "big kid" real paper books! She doesn't even try to destroy them!}, sorting things, school, gym daycare and having the babies drive the shopping cart (?), when DaddyO gets home/is home, her BUS!, climbing into chairs/stools, jumping in her crib, feeding baby, sitting on laps, playing with friends {Bowen/Bubba, Lola/Yaya, Griffin, and Charlie} and their toys, babies in general, pointing out cars, bikes, buses, trucks, and tractors, ripping off her bib when she's done eating {or thinks she's done}, putting stickers on things and then taking them off and throwing them in the trash {clearly not a pack rat...yet}, picking lint up off the floor and throwing it in the trash, blowing her nose and throwing the tissue in the trash, {I think you get it}, putting things in different containers, tearing the paper labels off crayons {and you guessed it...throwing it in the trash}, CHALK, closing doors, running, jumping, bows, going for walks, swinging, sliding, park-going, reading, saying MINE and pointing to herself, yelling MAMA/MOMMY, feeding herself, making crayon soup to feed baby, and a bunch of other stuff.

Eating is still a struggle over in these parts. She eats and she eats good foods, but just not the quantity I'd like her to. I mean, some days she eats like a HOSS and then other days she acts as if food is poison. The same exact food she just gobbled up the day before. It's lunacy. But apparently completely typical toddler behavior. Maybe because they ARE lunatics. Maybe? When she obliges, she eats oatmeal, banana, and cinnamon {basically every single morning}, eggs, cheese {only the special grass-fed sharp cheddar or string cheese}, avocado, cucumber, spinach cakes, hummus and carrot, rice crackers/cakes, rice, mac&cheese, edamame, pasta, yogurt, berries (raspberries are a BIG hit}, smoothies every day {where I sneak in spinach/kale/greens}, pizza, satsumas, um, yeah I think that's about it. Oh, and obvi any "snackie." Especially if it belongs to someone else. I also let her have a cookie. FAN.

Her Montessori school program just ended and I am so glad we did it. She really learned so much and had fun there. On our last day, we pulled up and she just kept repeating "happy! happy!" over and over. So yay for that. We'll definitely be continuing on the Montessori path if at all possible. She seems to thrive in the child-led environment since she's a motivated little learner and oh so curious. She got to know the routine so well: up the stairs by herself, take off shoes/boots and put them in the cubby, hang up coat on the hanger, find some work, put work back on the shelf, find more work, etc. etc. The only aspect that she never warmed up to was "circle time" at the end where the whole group came together to sing. It continued to surprise me because she LOVES the songs we sing and asks for them all day long. IDK. Rebel?

We've started initiating "quiet times" into Millie's life, when necessary. This usually occurs after hitting one of us or throwing toys. We remind her not to do the unwanted behavior and then if she continues we ask her to go to her room for a quiet time--basically just to cool off. Sometimes she puts up a good stink about it but really I think she's mostly thrilled. She likes her alone time {as do I} and she typically just goes in there and pulls a million books out. I go in when she's quiet and we have a little talk to remind her it's not okay to hit people or throw food/toys/books/etc. It seems to work so we're sticking with it. She's a fairly good listener and can follow directions {puts her boots away when she takes them off/put her shoes on when it's time to go/hangs her coat up on her little rack/gets a book when asked/puts her toys away} when she wants to. Which, you know, she's 21 months so is not all that often. But hey, we'll take it.

I still think that she's one of the smartest, sweetest, funniest, coolest, spunkiest person I've ever known. And I'm so so so glad she's mine. Er, ours.

19er

People. We've got some problems. Hitting, biting, swatting, NO-ing, whining, tantrum-ing, attitudey-ness, and insert other dreadful toddler behaviors here. I'm not joking when I say it's a damn good thing she's cute. And honestly, she really is so cute. Sometimes I just want to smoosh her face and eat her up. But MY GOD she is a challenge. I love her spunk, but holy wow there is a LOT of it. She's still sweet and silly and snugly (sometimes) and thoughtful and funny. But she has a mean streak and it can come at the most inopportune times dude. Like, mostly in the middle of quiet, peaceful Montessori class. Or whenever we do something she doesn't want us to do or ask her to do something she doesn't want to do. Basically whenever something isn't quite going her way. Yeah, then. However, I know it's developmentally appropriate, yada yada, a phase, it will pass, etc. etc. That doesn't really help when she's basically attacking me in front of 10 other toddlers and moms who are staring at me wondering why I can't control my 20 lb child. Oh hey how about YOU GIVE IT A GO.

So, that's happening. We say no, tell her it's not nice, show her the "ow-ee" and move on. Occasionally I'll take her for some quiet time, if that's doable. Basically it sucks. Here's hoping she learns quickly and learns to express her frustration in another way.

She is strong-willed. And freakishly strong. And confident. And headstrong. And other strong things. She will do what she wants to do when she wants to do it. But I'm thisclose to teaching her to say "I love you," so there is THAT.

She's picking up new words every day. Including shit. WHOOPS. Who said that?! She will repeat most of what you ask her to say, in her own way of course. She's got a few of what I refer to as her "universal words." Haven't quite identified what they mean yet but they sound like, "Shasha" and "Ceci." This morning, completely unprompted, she pointed my mouth and said, "mouth," then pointed to my eye, ear, and hair and identified them correctly. I was slightly to majorly (absurdly) excited. She says lots of other stuff too and it's so fun to hear her little teeny voice. My favorite new word is, "Yeah," which she actually says quite a lot. I guess she's a keeper.

Oh, and she likes wearing hair bows! Which is a double bonus because it means she actually has enough hair to wear a bow!

Okay! Pictures!

{Our new "view." Womp, womp.}

{Off to collect berries in Bebe's garden.}

{She ate them all.}
{She freaks.}
She climbs stairs solo. {And standing now!}

{She cheeses it up for Daddy.}
{She kisses boys. (?!)}
{She goes to big kid birthday parties.}
{She walks in heels better than me.}
{She plays with her cousins.}
{She shows giraffe a picture of a giraffe.}
{"MmmmmmmAH"}
{She grows up.}

Year and a Half

18 months old. She's 18 months old, that little rascal. So very wild, this whole growing up/watching your baby grow up thing.

So much has been going on in this past month. For one, we moved. Only across town, but to a new home in a new neighborhood with a whole new room for Mills. It took a bit of getting used to, but she's back to her easy-to-bed self and we're relieved. The place is just fine. (For the most part. We've got two (loud but nice) young dudes living upstairs. I had forgotten all about the dorm-style-living. Not that I needed to be reminded.)

Some stats:

*She's got a full set of (baby) teeth. As in, 20 chompers. AND had her first visit to the dentist. (Not her favorite.) And we're brushing those teeth on the daily.
*Not sure how much she weighs, but I'm guessing right around 20lbs. Yup, still a lightweight.
*Her hair is coming in. No really, it is. Bald baby no more!
*Just like the baby books say, her vocabulary really started to explode right around 18months. Some of my favorites include: tractor (still), star, hi!, bye! truck, bike ("bipe"), bubbles (buh-buh), octopus (ock...pos), nice, mama/mommy, daddy (dah-eeeee), lola (wo-wa), vrrrooom vrroooom for car, WEEEEEEEEEEE, wa-wa for water, Bebe, Pop, and Wee-Wee (Willie), ball, Bowen (which sounds like buh-ba), and she still uses lots of sign language (more, milk, banana, baby, waves, pounds it out, cheers, etc. etc.) and a lot of animal noises (my favorite is "tweeeet!" for birds).
*Bath time has become a bit of a struggle these days...not sure why. She still detests having water poured over her head. So the hair washing? Torture.
*She eats a lot. Which is good. She's loving hummus SO much right now. Obsessed. Others: banana, oatmeal (every.single.morning), peaches, cheese, broccoli/spinach potato cakes, smoothies, eggs, guac, chips (oops), cucumbers, apples, grapes, well, any fruit basically. So yeah, she eats.
*Sleeping. She's a pretty good sleeper going to bed around 7pm (talking and singing herself to sleep for 30+minutes) and getting up between 6:30-7am. She naps easily as well, from 1-3ish. Sometimes less, sometimes more. She needs both her sippy of milk and a banana to munch on during each nap/bedtime routine. She likes at least three books (always holding up one finger to ask for "one more") and then to be sung to before spontaneously giving us a smooch and pointing to get into her crib. Still in a sleepsack and still relying on the "sleep music." Our routine is going strong.
*Sharing. Still struggle with sharing her toys with friends. On Tuesday we start a Parent/Toddler Montessori class where "sharing is not advocated," so we're hoping we learn some new "turn-taking" skills.
*Climbing. She's a monkey and can climb up onto the couch, the chair in her room (where she hoards books), and up the stairs. She's learning to scooch herself down.
*Miss Independent. She's great at playing by herself and exploring the house. She likes to walk down the street by herself too. But will usually hold our hands when requested. She tries to put on her own clothes and shoes ("shoooos"). She's still a little unclear about the purpose of various articles of clothing though--she tries to put everything on like pants. Baby steps, people.
*Outside. Loves it. Wants to be out there ALL THE TIME. Even though we don't have the roof, we've got grass and a little front yard! Bubbles and sidewalk chalk on the daily.
*Dancing?Music. Still a big fan.
*Holding hands champion. She actually prefers to hold both of our hands and walk between us. Can't say we mind much.
*Helping. She puts away her toys before we leave home. She's mildly to majorly obsessed with "keys!" so she likes to "help" us lock and unlock doors. Even those that do not belong to our house or our car. She's not too picky. Oh, and folding clothes. She's a real big help.
*Reading. We're so pleased about this one. The girl loves to read. It always calms her down if she's having a moment. (We have lots of moments around here.) Anyway, books are cool. Some favorites at the moment: Goodnight Moon, Is Your Mama a Llama, Counting Kisses, My First Things That Go Book, Goodnight Chicago, Who's in the Garden, I am a Bunny, and more.
*Cleaning. She takes after me in this department...she wipes up spills, wipes her face with a napkin, and picks up random fuzzies off the floor. She also likes to put things back in their proper place (after moving them all around the house of course).
*Drama Queen. She has a super dramatic sad face and can fake cry with the best of 'em.

She'e one of us and we adore her silly little sassy self.

16-17 monthers

Whoops. Kinda fell off the TATB wagon there for a bit. Life has been busy. And challenging. (Not all because of the Millster, but yeah, she's been a handful.) There's been plenty of decision-making and mind-changing and big life moments going on around here. Also, surgery, illness, and general anxiety. GOOD TIMES. No but really. We've also had a sunny summer on the roof and with friends and family and it hasn't been all sob story. Just a healthy mix.

ANYWAY. The bean is now 17 months old. That's almost a year and a half. Which is close to two. Which is blowing my mind. She is a real live kid person. And a spunky one at that. Strangers (on the street) like to inform me that she's got a lot of personality. Yeah, you THINK?! Honestly, it makes me proud. She stands out. All 2 1/2 feet tall and 20 lbs of her. (Guestimating on those stats, btw.)

She's starting to mimic more and more of what we say (guess we really need to reign in those f-bombs and s-hits). She does countless things to make me laugh each day. Examples: she gives me this look when she is disappointed in what I'm doing/asking her to do/not doing {wonder where she got THAT from}; she feeds herself {successfully and unsuccessfully--I'm learning to get over the mess}; she puts away her toys {sometimes} without even being asked; she puts on her own hats {haphazardly, which makes it all the more cute}; when she's mad she crosses her arms and holds them there {...}; she plays jokes on us/tries to startle or surprise us; she loves to play chase; she helps me do laundry; she waves bye-bye to the potty when I flush the toilet; she carries her baby everywhere; it's 7:49am and she's still sleeping; she likes cheese {extra sharp cheddar--the pricey kind}; she smiles at bigger boys; she loves the garden and picks her own {not-always-ripe} berries; she runs to the bath when I ask if she wants one; she runs to her room when I ask if she's ready to go night-night or read stories; she can point to all the animals in Brown Bear, Brown Bear; she stacks blocks and loves to read; she enjoys her alone time--playing in her room for extended periods of time by herself; she calls every moving vehicle a
"trac-terrrr;" she loves being outside, especially on the roof; she still says "cheese" when I take her picture {which is a LOT}; she loves dogs; she likes to climb up slides and slide down backwards; she fills buckets with water to drink or pour on herself; push around her baby in her {borrowed} baby stroller; etc. etc. etc.

She's also been called a bully by the gym daycare attendant. That was not fun/easy/cool to hear. She knows what she wants and she goes after it. She is not very good at sharing her toys. Not very good at all. As soon as one of her friends touches anything she immediately takes it away as if she was JUST about to play with that exact toy. It's embarrassing. But normal. I know. But it doesn't make it any easier. She's always been assertive, so I don't know why I'm surprised in the slightest. She swats our faces and yells. She pulls my hair. I have a hard time not laughing. I'm trying. She doesn't listen when I ask her to come inside from the car/garage/elevator/hallway. She finds in hilarious. She picks live flowers/pulls unripe tomatoes/peppers after she sees me deadheading/harvesting. I can't get angry at her for that. She's also getting her 4 i-teeth basically simultaneously. That's gotta hurt. The two top and one bottom have already poked through and the 4th and final one is bulging. It's going to be a happy day when the teething mission is complete.

She is my best buddy these days. We have daily adventures together. And I can't think of a cuter mini best to accompany me each day.

The Toddler Bus

So, remember that time when I was all, "15 months is AWE to the SOME!" And, "Millie is the coolest kid in town!" Yeah, about that. I'm pretty sure she's been reading my blog (genius!) and wanted to prove me wrong or something because HOLY HELL this past week has been ROUGH. And yes, the CAPS are necessary. All of them.

The tantrums? They've multiplied. The shrieking? It's out of control. The rambunctiousness? The recklessness? The wildness? Yes, yes, and YES. We've got it all. She knows what she wants and she wants it RIGHT NOW. And when she doesn't get it right away she is not at all shy about sharing her, um, extreme displeasure with the world. Or the Whole Foods shoppers. Or the innocent bystanders at the park. Or on the street. Or the kids and moms at playgroup. Or, IDK, ANYONE. (Yes, that includes you.)

As I've read and heard, 15-18 months can be tough. (I can now verify that it indeed IS tough. So far.) They have so many emotions and feelings and desires and want to communicate them but they don't yet have the ability to do so. I guess I would be pissed too. I mean, I get peeved when the boy doesn't respond to my question within 2.2 seconds. I get it. (Kinda.) But whoa man, I feel like I've been hit by a bus. And actually, I kind of have. In the form of a 15-month-old rowdy ball of energy and opinions. I guess this wasn't the week to quit drinking.

Additional Stuff to Brag About

After I posted yesterday I was like, OH! And she does this cool thing. And that's pretty awesome too. So I figured it best to write it down when the writing's being written. Or something.

Other Stuff That Makes Millie Cool:

• She helps me get her out of the car seat (usually by switching the snack trap/toy/sippy from one hand to the other) while taking off (or putting on) the straps. Remarkably this is a huge help.
• When I say, "arms up" she does as asked and therefore makes getting her dressed/undressed easier.
• She cleans the floor/table/fireplace/etc with a towel/cloth/coaster/etc. Clearly she's seen me doing that a time or two (MILLION).
  
• She waits by the door for Daddy to come home and then runs to hug him. I DIE of cute.
  
• She drags around reusable bags and loads them with random stuff.
• She waves hello and goodbye and blows kisses.
• If she sees me across the room, she excitedly points at me. And then I point back at her. And it's fun.
• She's handled the one-nap-transition like a champ (KNOCKS ON WOOD).
• She likes to play by herself.
• She hides things under seat cushions. (Hmmm...brag-worthy?)
• She likes to sit on small perches.
• She's climbing stairs like a big girl. And sometimes even by herself. WHAT.
• She fills up buckets with water. (That's some sort of skill, right?)

Annnnnnnnnnnnnd I think that's it. (For now.)

15 months

I honestly cannot believe that Amelia is 15 months old. It's just so, IDK... OLD. She's a real kid. Well, a toddler. But still. She's a tiny person with her very own likes, dislikes, desires, and dreams. And those dreams are big, I can already tell.

She does so much fun stuff these days and is honest to goodness fun to be around. I mean, I like hanging out with her. For serious! She's my little pal.

Some of the cool stuff she does:

• Signs: more, please, all done, thank you, eat, banana, claps, points to get down, etc.
• Talks: Mama, Dada, snack, cheese, teeth, hot, etc. (Lots of other chit-chatting going on as well but your guess is as good as mine)
  
• Points: to her nose, mouth, teeth, eyes, ears, toes, belly button, and then those spots on others (she is obsessed with noses for some reason--so watch out!)
  
• Nods her head (it's adorb-to-the-max)
• Sleeps: 7-7 (give or take) and we're in the midst of transitioning to one nap (1-3pm)
• Accessorizes: This is has been going on for months, but the girl likes her accessories and will make anything a purse, bracelet, or necklace
• Eats: Since we just finished our nursing routine when she turned 15 months (TEAR), she's been drinking more milk (we're trying to transition to raw) and eating more foods. She's still what I would call a light eater, but she eats and she eats a variety. Her favorites: banana (holding the whole dang thing herself), smoothies, cheese, edamame, yogurt, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, popsicles (although she gets brain freeze and cries), frozen veggies (green beans are her fave), fresh corn, avocado (she will eat a half at lunch), oatmeal, cheerios, and couscous. I'm starting to research new recipes for her to try as she seems to get "sick" of having the same things over and over.
• Animal sounds: To Millie, most animals say, "ooo, oooh." But lions and bears growl. And birds do a higher pitched "oooh, oooh."
  
• Outside: The girl loves being outside. A lot. As soon as she wakes up in the morning (or from her nap), she finds her shoes (pink crocs are her favorite ones at the moment) and brings them to me (while loudly doing her grunt thing "EHH! EHH!"). And then she brings me my own shoes. (Thank God summer is finally here!) When I ask if she wants to go to the park, she nods her head emphatically and runs to the door. She loves to watch the kids at the park and get in the mix. She's even started going down the slide all by herself--HEAD FIRST. She likes adventuring, that's for sure. She tears around the park yelling her head off. Sometimes she falls down. But she rarely cries. She's a tough cookie, my Bunny McGee.
• Kissing: The girl is a serious kissing fanatic. I LOVE IT. The kisses are closed-mouth (thankfully) and smack-dab on the lips. And her hugs! Her hugs are as tight as tight can be.
  
• Friends: She's got a few mini bests and gets extremely excited when she sees them. She points and smiles and likes to get right up in their faces (personal space much?) And then she does this crouch head-tilt thing. It's the cutest. I love that she loves to be with people. It makes play dates and the gym daycare even more enjoyable for both of us.
• Toys: Balls are becoming a big hit around here. As is any type of pull-toy. If it has a string/cord/whathaveyou, she'll be pulling it behind her. She spent a lot of time pushing Lola's baby doll around in a stroller, so I'm thinking she might need one of her own.
  
• Books: She is really getting into books lately (woohoo!) and loves to be read to. She'll grab some books from the bin and then back into your lap. Darlingness. Speaking of, she loves to walk backwards. Also, the sidestep. Guess she needed a challenge? Who knows.
• Other stuff she loves: playing with daddy, riding the elevator and pressing the alarm button, talking on the phone, smelling flowers (real or just images), pointing at birds, planes, and other sky noises, taking pictures with her toy camera (while saying "chheeeeeeese"), bubbles, coloring (slash eating crayons), singing, dancing, patting backs, exploring, playing with tea bags, opening and closing containers, guzzling water, carrying around her snack trap, being chased, jumping on the couch, reading books in her crib, slapping her crib, being naked, doing the itsy-bitsy-spider (and even some of the hand motions) and oh so much more.
• Fits: Lest you think we live in some perfect toddler bubble, we don't. The fits, they've begun. I usually just let her get it out of her system and move on. It's mostly frustrating because I don't always know what she wants/needs. And sometimes even when I do, I don't just want to give in...and this is just the beginning. Oh, and there is a LOT of crying when something is taken away. AlotAlot. It isn't pretty. BUT! It's normal. So we got that going fo us. WHEW!
  

She is such a trip. I can't imagine my life without her. She makes me laugh every single day. I am so very thankful for my sweet, charming, silly, affectionate, head-strong 15 month old buddy.

14er

14 months is a fun amount of months. There's running, there's laughing, there's sleeping (still through the night), there's napping (still two), there's eating off our plates (when she feels like it), there's feeding herself with spoons/forks, there's sign language (she's added "please" and thank you" to her repertoire), there are a couple of new words (most notably "nack" for snack), there's clapping, there's funny-face-making, there's lots of hugs and kisses, there's head-shaking and nodding, there's accessorizing, there's snuggling, there's swinging, there's sliding, there's reading, there's pointing, there's playing chase, there's pretending, there's dancing, there's snack-eating, there's identifying body parts (on herself and us), there's taking things out (of drawers, cabinets, bins) and putting things away (and shockingly usually where they belong), there's helping me get her dressed and undressed, there's picking of outfits, there's phone talking, there's lots of interesting (gibberish-filled) conversations, there's silly-goofing, there's back-patting, there's leg-hugging, there's delight, there's helping daddy with projects, there's outings with friends, there's baths, there's getting down off the couch by herself, there's stair-climbing, there's taking the time to smell the flowers. And above all, there's lots and lots of love.


There's also fit-throwing (especially when something is taken away), mouth pulling (more teeth are on the horizon), face "hitting," limit-testing, food-throwing, screeching during diaper changes, object-banging, yelling, paper-tearing, toy-stealing, technological-obsessing, among other non-desirables.


But, holy wow, I love her so.

13 monthers

Dear Little,

You are now 13 months old (and some change). You are a walking pro. In fact, you almost run. You certainly still fall down, but you usually get right back up all by yourself. You love accessories. Really, really love a lot. Necklaces, bracelets, headbands, purses, etc. You even use other clothes as makeshift necklaces and headbands. You carry objects around the house and put them in random places. You open and close drawers and cabinets, inspecting them and removing whatever you believe doesn't belong. Nothing is safe from your little hands anymore. Especially things on the edge of tables. Your reach up on your tippy-toes to grab and investigate. You are a very busy and curious girl.

The other day I took you to the story time at our local library. Instead of sitting on my lap and listening to the stories and songs like the other children, you bopped around the room doing your own thing. Often you'd carry a book to another family and plop down next to them, insisting they read to you. Other times you'd put your hand on someone's shoulder and peek around and stare into their eyes. Or sit way too close. Like on their leg. Apparently you are not shy.

You'll wave hello and goodbye when I ask and I love it. People love it too. You also blow kisses and give sweet kisses on the lips as well. No more big sloppy, open-mouthed kisses. You are a lady--a tight-lipped little lady. You give great hugs too. Tight ones. And you like to pat our backs as we hold you. When we get up from naps or in the morning you hug us close and rest your head on our shoulders. I'm pretty sure this is why daddy leaves for work later than ever before. He likes to get you in the morning. (I don't blame him.)

Eating is still our biggest "issue" with you. You are one particular little person. One days favorite food is the most despised the next. Some stuff you will usually eat no problem include: yogurt with preserves, frozen veggies, avocado, banana, clementines, raisins (especially yogurt covered ones), smoothie, mini whole wheat waffles, edamame, scrambled eggs, and some others. You used to LOVE oatmeal and banana and eat it without fail every morning but lately you are SO over that. That must only be for babies and you're a big girl now. TEAR. Just kidding. I love that you are growing up but I kinda hate it too. You're still nursing four times a day but I'm hoping to start to wean you off a few of those. I'm torn. I love that special time with you, but I'd also like some time to "myself" before we even consider giving you a brother or sister. What a great big sissy you'll be. (You have recently started carrying around your baby doll that Bebe got you and go and get her when I ask where your baby is.)

One of our closest friends just had a precious baby boy the other day and I held him last night and almost cried. I can't believe that you were ever that tiny. And you were! And now. Well, now you're walking and talking and feeding yourself (if you want to), and have SO much personality it most definitely could not be contained in a teeny weeny baby body. Don't get me wrong, you're still pretty teeny for a person. But there is just so much going on inside your head and inside your body and I adore watching you figure things out. You're smart. Very smart.

Oh! And you love to dance. I mean, LOVE to dance. You even dance to the blender. Seriously. You wave your hands in the air and shake your booty and even started this new feet shuffle move. I die of cuteness. You also do this sing/hum thing whenever I start to sing and sometimes out of nowhere. Please don't ever stop singing and dancing.

You still mostly say dada and mama but also started saying hot which sounds like "haaaa?" It's always a question. (IDK.) You also say OH! And UH! (For uh-oh.) You say "nigh nigh" and wave goodnight to daddy. You point and say what I take to be "this?" As if you're asking what (everything) is...I happily oblige. You shake your head vigorously when you don't want something or when I tell you no. You sign milk, eat, night

You carry around your sippy cups (one of milk, which thankfully you like, and one of water) in one hand. Double-fisting in your own special way. You love to be chased and still love peek-a-boo. You are very good at playing independently for the most part. Unless I'm on the computer. You hate when I'm on the computer and whine at my feet until I pick you up so that you can pound on the keys.

Speaking of whining...you're a whiner, I'm sorry to admit. You whine when you don't get your way or when I take something away from you. Especially my phone. You are obsessed with my phone and walk around the house just chatting away. You love to get into the recycling. And the tupperware drawer still. You bang things together in your one-lady-band. You love to push buttons in elevators and still love pushing buttons on remotes. If we let you, you turn up the music unbearably loud and cry because it is too loud. Or you'll just flip through each radio station at lightening fast speed. Apparently those are your favorite buttons to push.

You like to help daddy work on projects. You want to be where the action is. IN the action. You're starting to help me get you dressed or undressed and even strapped into the car seat. So thanks for that.

You're a good errand runner and don't mind riding with me in the car as long as you've got your drinks and snacks. You love snacks. You also love to shake your snack trap like it's a tambourine and inevitably toss snacks all around the car. So, yeah. That's awesome.

You're my most favorite little buddy there ever was.

Love,
Mama

twelve equals one

Twelve whole months old.

This was quite an exciting month for the bean. She spent most of it a foreign country and hanging in Caribbean. Lucky little.

She started communicating (mostly via sign language), traveled by bus (and plane and van and cab), started solo standing, swam in the sea, played in the sand, ate sand, ate fresh fruit, was loved, wore flip flops (hated it), wore nothing, made friends, went to bars, slept on the beach, saw monkeys, danced (a lot), sang (slash hummed), nursed in the sea (and on the beach and in bars, airplanes, buses, cars, and every other place you can imagine), played cards, cried, chewed on dominoes, took morning walks to the beach, chilled in hammocks, helped daddy work, floated, explored, experienced life and lived.




















Happy month Amelia Lee. I hope you had as much fun adventuring as we did.